I am in italy and in every coffee bar I go there is not even one barista who tamps with an stainless steel tamper. They all have a tamper attached to the grinder that they just used very lightly and then the espresso is just Awesome. Very curious to find out why in north amerika we havw given such an importance to the tamper. I myself bought an expensive one and my friends here were joking about it :).

I am in italy and in every coffee bar I go there is not even one barista who tamps with an stainless steel tamper. They all have a tamper attached to the grinder that they just used very lightly and then the espresso is just Awesome. Very curious to find out why in north amerika we havw given such an importance to the tamper. I myself bought an expensive one and my friends here were joking about it :).

Ask David Schomer, as I believe much of the modern tamp mania can be traced to his influence.

It's not the tamping so much as consistency that's important, in my (somewhat limited, admittedly) understanding. If the grinder is good, the tamp is more for leveling and to correct minor distribution issues.

For one, their grinders are tuned for one, specific DARKLY roasted coffee that's usually ground very finely. And secondly, they don't usually use naked portafilters, so you can't see the channeling and spurting that probably goes on in each shot.

In America (and on this forum in particular), we are very interested in the Third Wave of coffee and more specifically the artistic aspects of brewing coffee. If the shot didn't pull an oozing, perfect cone, we figure we messed up and insist the the shot wasn't "balanced" even though it tastes fine and dump it down the drain (or put it in our mom's Mochaccino).

Tamping is extremely important when you're working with light roasted, single origins that come out of the grinder looking like moss and won't pull a pretty shot unless the puck is PERFECTLY level and all other variables are in sync. So again, different coffees (dark roasts are more forgiving), different cultures, and different priorities. I sometimes wonder myself if Italians laugh at us, poking at our precious little mound of powdery grinds with a needle and nutating and caressing the tamper like it's neurosurgery. I guess they do, now that I've read your post.

Oh, another thing to consider is that the roasts these Italian coffee houses are using have probably been around for decades, as opposed to Propaganda Coffee's Old Shoe Blend in Portland that was developed in quaint old 2007, and has beans that have only barely glimpsed 1st crack, and they insist works FINE on their Synesso.

Interesting! You made me giggle about giving the non "perfect" shot to mama heehee. That's true what you wrote! I do the same :).

Yes, I grew up in Italy with the habit of brewing coffee with the bialetti moka and espresso was only in the coffee bar. I would have never immagined investing in a grinder and an espresso machine like today unles I had plans to open a caffeteria!

Mind you I asked the barista when was the coffee brewed and he said: ma che ne so, its written it expires in 2014 heheh. And I get picky if my coffee was roasted only 2 days ago at home!

Anyway coffee here is just delicious! And the espresso machine i've seen mist around are La Faema!

It's not the tamping so much as consistency that's important, in my (somewhat limited, admittedly) understanding. If the grinder is good, the tamp is more for leveling and to correct minor distribution issues.

Tamping is one aspect, no more, no less important than the other dozen or so variables that dictate the end result. Some might argue the tamping as the lowest of importance but honestly, when I started out, I've sinked quite a few shots due to choked shots from overpressed pucks, as well underextracted shots from underpressed pucks. The funny thing is as the beans age, I need to either adjust my tamp pressure or adjust my grind, otherwise the shot quality degrades if I don't. It seems the Italian baristas have everything so dialed in for that light tamp, they make it look effortless.

Tamping isn't particularly important -- at least not to the point of making a fetish about it the way some people used to a few years ago (but no longer do). On the other hand, good, consistent dosing and distribution tecniques -- including tamping -- ARE important.

We can go into what is important and why it's important if you like. While that wasn't your question the short answer is that you want all that stuff done well enough so as (1) not to screw up an otherwise good pull; and (2) to predictably use the variables of temp, dose and grind to get the most from your beans (aka dialing in).

Also, in my experience "typical" Italian espresso -- like you get at a bar -- generally isn't very good, mostly because they use cheap beans. Certainly a good US or Canadian café is better than run of the mill Italian joints. The "superiority" of Italian coffee is more nostalgia than anything else.

Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post

Forum Rules:No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards.No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum.No SEO style postings will be tolerated. SEO related posts will result in immediate ban from CoffeeGeek.No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum.Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards.Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics.Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies.Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies.Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts.Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.